Punch press mechanism



Dec. 11, 1945.

. A. M. Ma 'Pl-IEA ET AL 2,390,600

PUNCH PRESS MECHANISM v 2 Filled March 18; 1944 5 Sheets-Shet 1 l/VVE/VTORS AMMAc/M'Ar 5 L. Moo/v 67m Br 4/ A- Dec. v A M H 'T ETAL I PUNCI-i PRESS MECHANISM V Filed March 18, 1944 3 Sheets- Sheet 2 lA/Vf/VTORS .MMAcP/mr Dec-1 1 5- A. M. MacPH EAT ETAL 2,390,600- PUNCH PRESS MECHANISM Filed larch 18, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 indexed positions.

Patented Dec. 1 1,- 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PUNCH PRESS MECHANISM Alexander M. MacPhqat, Brookfield, Elmer L.

Moon,

Western Springs, and Emil Sirp,

Downers Grove, Ill., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 18, 1e44, Serial No. 527,124

Claims.'

This invention relates to punch press mechanisms and more particularly to a. dial feed for use in a punch press.

- It is an object of the present invention to pro- -vide a simple and efllcient dial feed for an article processin apparatus.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention as applied to a dial feed for a punch press,

the ram of the press has a reciprocable cam member fixed to it for imparting rotation to a driv-' ing element in opposite directions when the press head is advanced and retracted. The cam member is in the form of a splined shaft having a helical groove or spline formed in it to engage a key on the driving element of a. unidirectional driving device, which has its driven element in mesh with an intermedate gear for imparting step by step rotative movement to a dial rotatably mounted onthe bed of a punch-press. Means are provided for locking the dial in indexed positions to which it is rotated on the upstroke of: the press head and an interlock cooperates with l a portion of the dial to prevent operation of the for performing this operation. The press head I 3, as shown in Fig. 3, is mounted upon and reciprocates with an actuator member l4. The punch press is provided with a base or bed I 5, as is usual in such mechanisms, on which there is mounted a bolster plate IS. The bolster plate has suitably secured thereto an irregularly shaped relatively thick plate ii. The plate IT is cut out on its underside to receive gears l8, l9 and 2m, which rest on the upper surface of the bolster plate It and are fixed to a driving collar 2], a stud shaft 22, and a sleeve 23, respectively. .The sleeve 23 punch press unlessthe dial is in one of its proper A complete understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan section through a punch press 1 looking down at the bed of the press on which an intermittently rotatable dial is mounted, parts being broken away to illustrate more clearly the 0 parts lying beneath them;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional vview taken substantially along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 in the direction of the arrows showing the head of the press in its elevated position; and a Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 except that it grows. the punch press head in its operated posi- Referring to the drawings, wherein like referout the several views, particular reference being first had to Fig. 1, wherein the press head stand- .ard l0 and II of a punch press mechanism are with a pair of slots 40 and 4|, in which keys 42 ence characters designate the same parts throughsuitable mechanism not shown may be provided forms the driven element of a unidirectional drive mechanism, designated generally by the numeral 24, which comprises, in addition to the sleeve 23, a driving element or collar 25.

Th driven element 23 has a socket 30 formed in it for receiving atubular extension 3| of the driving collar 25. In addition to receiving the tubular extension 3| of the collar 25,. the socket 30 is provided with recesses 32 and 33 of gradually decreasing width for receiving roller bearing members 34 and 35, which are spring pressed toward the reduced portion of the recesses 32 and 33, respectively, by compression springs 36 and 31, as is usual in such devices. The compression springs are held against'the roller bearing members by .means of set screws 38 and 39 and normally tend to force the roller bearings 34 and into wedging engagement with the narrow end of the recesses 32 and 38 and with the tubular extension 3|, whereby, when the driving collar 25 is rotated counterclockwise, as viewed in Fig. l,

the collar 25 and sleeve 23' will be positively locked together and the collar 25 will drive the sleeve-23. When the collar 25 is rotated in a clockwise direction, the roller bearings will roll between the col-' lar 25 and surfaces of the recesses 32 and 33 and, consequently, will not drive the sleeve 23. The collar 25 is provided'adiacent its upper surface and 43 may be locked by machine screws 44 and 45, and the collar 25 is held against the upper surface of the plate l! by a retainer plate 46, the collar 25 being provided with a radially extending shoulder 41, which engages under a. cooperating shoulder 48 formed on the retainer plate 46. In this manner, the collar 25 is held in place with respect to the sleeve 23 and will carry the keys 42 and 43 in ke'yways or splines 49-43 formed helically in a camming rod or shaft 50. The shaft 50 may be fixed in any suitable manner to the press head I3, for example, by'means-of a retaining plate 5|. The rod or shaft 50 is fixed to the press head l3, and is not rotatable with reclprocated, the rod will be moved up and down and, since the key 42jand 43 extend into in its operation, positively connecting the sleeve 23 to the collar 25 only during the rotation of the collar 28 in one direction.

When the sleeve 23 is rotated step by step, it

- will, through the gears 28, I8 and I8, impart intermittent rotation to the driving collar 2|. The driving collar 2| has a central aperture Gil formed in it, which is adapted to receive a post 6| have ing a head 82. The head 82 of the post 8| rests on the upper surface of a dial plate 83, which has a tapered socket 84 in its'lower surface for receiving the upper end of the driving collar 2|,

which is tapered to fit snugly in the socket 84 and to form a friction connection between the collar 2| and the dial plate 83. The central aperture 80 is enlarged adjacent the lower end of the collar 2| to receive a coil spring 85, which engages a shoulder 88, at the upper end of the enlar ed portion of the central aperture 68, and a head member 81. The head member 81 ha a t readed shank 88 threaded into the post 8! and the head, member 61 is acted upon by the compression spring 88 to tend to draw the post 8| downwardly, thus to frictionally en age the tapered surface of the collar 2| with the tapered surface of the socket '84, whereby these two parts will tend to struction to the rotation of the dial plate 83. the collar 2| may turn without breaking any of the parts cooperating with the dial plate. Su tably attached to the upper surface of the dial plate 83. for example, by means of a washer 88 held in place on the post 8| by a machine screw 10. is an article sup orting plate carrying a plurality of article holdin fixtures I2, which will be described more in detail hereinafter.

The d al plate 83 and article supporting plate II, in addition to being held together by the washer 88 and machine screw Ill, are interconnected by dowel pins [4 so that thetwo plates will rotate together. Around the periphery of the dial plate 63, there are provided a plu ality rotate together. but in case that there s an obpin 85 within the confines of a slot 88 formed I respect thereto, whereby, when the press head is and having its upper pointed end engaging a camming surface 81 on the underside of the latch The latch 11 is free to rock slightly on'the in the bracket 89 which supports the pin 85 'and which is mounted upon the upper surface of the plate i1 beneath the article supporting plate 1|. The camming surface 81 on the latch Tl slopes upwardly-from the forward edge of the latch 11, as viewed in Figs. 2 and 3, toward the rear of the latch Tl so that the latch I1 will be cammed I8 in the dial plate 83 and. due to the pressure of the plunger 90 and plunger 88 on the top and bottom thereof, will be cammed forwardly, as viewed in Fig. 3. or to the right, as viewed in Fig. ,l. to rock slightly about the pin 85. When the head i3 is retracted, the plunger 80 will be retracted with it and the latch 11 will move upw rdly under the influence of the plunger 86. However, since the latch has been cammed sli htly out ofnormal positibn. its upper surface will enga e the lower surface of the peripheral edge of the dial plate 63 and the latch I1 will then be under spring pressure to engage'in the next north 15 when the dial plate 83 is rotated through the unidirectional drive mechanism 2-1 and connected'gearing.

The article supporting plate II, as pointedout I hereinbefore, carries a plurality of article hold-' ing fixtures I2, each of which has a shouldered aperture 93 extending throughit for carrying headed ejector member 94. The constructionof the holding fixture 12 will depend upon the operations being performed by the punch press on blanks 85 carried by the fixtures 12. In the present embodiment of the invent on, two operations are performed upon the blanks for each stroke of notches 18 ada ted to register with eit er a pawl 18 or a latch 11. The pawl I8 is formed on the end of a bell crank lever 18. which. as shown most clearly in Fig. l; is p voted on the bolster plate l8 by means of -a pivot pin '18 end is normally urged to rock in a clockw se direction by a spring pressed plunger lilseated -in the edge of the plate IT. T e pawl I8 is so formed t at when the dial plate 83 is rotated counter-clockwise. the pawl will be cammed out of a notch 18 and onto the outer peripheral surface of'the pl te 88, thus to rock the lever 18 about the pivot pin "and carry t e rear end of the lever I8 nto the path of a collar 8| attached to the trip rod l2, thereby to prevent operation of the trip rod at any time that the dial plate 88 is out of a proper indexed posit on.

The latch 11 serves to lock t e dial plate 83in one of its proper indexed positions, to which it has been driven by'the unidirect onal drive mechanism 24. and the latch 11' is operative to effect this latching due to the fact that it is loosely pivoted on a pin 88 and is urged upwardly by a spring-pressed plunger 88 seated in the plate I] of the punch press by a tool 88 and another tool (not shown), the construction of which is not wherein the tool 88 is shown flattening aflange formed on the upper end of the blank 88. The lower ends of, the elector members 84 extend into a groove 81 formed in the plate I! and as the dial plate 83 is rotated, carryingwlth it the' article supporting'plate H, the ejector members 84 will engage a filler block 88 set into the groove 8'|.and tapering in such a manner that as the article supporting table is rotated. the blanks 88 will be ejected from the apertures 83 by the ejector members 84 dueto the engagement of the lower ends of the elector members with the block 88 as the fixtures 12 are moved in a circular'path.

A better understanding of the invention may i be had by. reference to the following brief description of the mode of operation thereof. The punch press may be controlled by actuating the trip rod 12 and, as pointed out, each time the trip rod I2 is actuated, the punch press will go through one complete cycle to move the press head I3 from th position shown in Fig. 2 to the positionshown in Fig. 3 and back to the position I ing members 34 and 35 will not be wedged between the surfaces of the recesses 32 and 33 but will be rolled freely about their own axes. When the press head comes down to its lowermost position,

as shown in Fig. 3, the tool 96 and 'any other tool which may be mounted on the head l3 will operate on the blank 95 and the plunger 90 will engage the latch 11 to force it out of its associated notch 15 in the dial plate 63. Due to the action of the spring-pressed plunger v86 on the camming surface 81, the latch Tl will also be rocked slightly counterclockwise, as viewed in Fig. 1. After the tools have operated on the blanks 95 associated with them, the head l3 will be retracted to its upper position and, in moving to its upper position, the latch 11 will move up, against the peripheral edge of the dial'plate 63 and will not enter into the notch 15. The edge of the dial plate 63 will hold the latch 11 depressed until the next notch 15.comes into alignment with the latch. Rotation will be imparted to the dial plate 63 on the upstroke of the press head l3 due to the fact that rotation will be imparted by the rod 50 to the collar 25 to cause it to rotate or oscillate counterclockwise back to its original position. When the collar 25 is rotated counterclockwise, the roller bearing members 34 and 36 will be wedged between the surfaces of the recesses 32 and 33 and the outer surface of the extension 3| and, accordingly, the sleeve 23 will be rotated counterclockwise. As the sleeve 23 rotates counterclockwise, it will, through the intermediate gear l9 and gear l8, drive the driving collar 2| counterclockwise to carry the dial plate 63 in a counterclockwise direction. As the dial plate 63 moves counterclockwise, the pawl 16 will be cammed out of its associated notch 15 and will ride on the periphery of the plate 63 until it.drops into the next adjacent notch 15 clockwise from the one which had previously engaged with it. S milarly, the latch I1 will be forced into the next notch from the one in which it had previously registered. .The press may now be tripped by actuating trip rod l2 and, since the pawl 16 has fallen into a notch 15 on the dial plate 63, the rear end of the lever I8 will be out of the path of the collar 8| and the press may be tripped.

What is claimed is: I

1. In a punch 'press, a reciprocatory press head, a work forming element on said head, an actuatorrod fixed'to sa d head for reciprocation there- .with. oscillatory means positioned to be oscillated by said rod in opposite directions upon advancement and retraction of said rod, a dial plateencircling said cam rod for rotation thereby, a

unidirectional drive mechanism driven by said ring, an indexable table geared to and driven by said drive mechanism, and article holders on said table for positioning an article to be worked upon by said tool each time the table is driven by its drive mechanism.

3. In a punch press having a bed and a reciprocatory head, a unidirectional drive mechanism supported on the bed of the press, including a reversely actuatable driving element and a unidirectionally rotatable element driven thereby, means carried by thepress head for rotating the driving element, an article supporting dial rotatably mounted onthe bed and driven by said unidirectionally rotatable element, a tool on the press head for operating upon work carried by the dial, and work holders carried by the dial for presenting successive pieces of work. held thereby to position to be operated upon bythe tool when the dial is driven.

4. In a punch press having a bed and a reciprocatory press head. a splined rod fixed to said head, a collar keyed to said rod for oscillation thereby, a unidirectional drive mechanism driven by said collar upon oscillation thereof, a dial connected to said drive mechanism to be driven thereby upon oscillation of the collar in one direction, work supports on said dial for carrying work to position to be worked upon, and a tool on the press head for engaging and forming said work in said position during oscillation of the collarin the opposite direction to said one direc- I tion. a

5. In a punch press having a bed and a reciprocatory press head,v a splined rod fixed to said head, a collar keyed to said rod for oscillation thereby, means for supporting the collar for oscillation and for preventing reciprocation thereof, a unidirectionaldrive mechanism driven by said collar upon oscillation thereof, a .dial connected to said drive mechanism to be driven thereby upon oscillation of the collar in one direction, work supports on said dial, and a tool on the press head-for operating on work on said supports during oscillation of the collar in a direction opposite to said one direction.

6. In a punch press having a reciprocatory press head; a stationary bed and an indexable article supporting dial plate, article supports on said dial plate, a unidirectional drive mechanism for; indexing the dial plate, a cam rod on the press head for driving the drive mechanism in opposite directions upon reciprocation of the press head. said driving mechanism being effective to index the dial upon movement of the cam rodand press head upwardly, and a tool on the press head being effective to operate upon an article upon movement of the press head. and cam rod downwardly.

7. A dial feed for use in a punch press having a reciprocatory press head and a stationary bed comprising a driving rod having a helical cam slot cut in it and fixed to the press head, an annular member having a oamming key extending into said slot for rotation in opposite directions upon reciprocation of the press head, a second annular member mounted coaxiallywith respect to the first annular member, means operative to connect the second annular member to said first annular member upon rotation of said first memerated upon, and a tool on the press head for operating upon work in a work support.

8. A dial feed for use in a punch press having a reciprocatory press head carrying an article working tool, and a stationary bed, comprising a driving rod having a helicalcam slot cut in it and fixed to the press head, an annular member having a camming key extending into said slot for rotation in opposite directions upon reciprocation of the press head, a second annular member mounted coaxially with respect to the first annular member, means operative to connect the second annular member to said first annular member upon rotation of said first member in one direction, an indexable dial connected to the second annular. member to be driven thereby, article supports carried by said dial to operative association with said article working tool, means for locking said dial in a plurality of indexed positions, in each of which positions an article in a support is operatively associated with the tool, and means actuated by the press head for releasing said locking means.

9. A dial feed for use in a punch press having a reciprocatory press head, a toolv mounted on cation of the press head, a second annular member mounted coaxially with respect to the first annular member for driving connection with the first annular member on movement of the press head away from the bed, means operative to con-' '10. In, a. punch press having a reciprocatory press head, an article working tool on said press head, a stationary bed and an index-able article said head, and a stationary bed eomprisinga driving rod having a helical cam slot cut in it and fixed to the press head, an annular member having a camming key extending into said slot for rotation in opposite directions upon recipro-' unidirectional drive mechanism for indexing the dial plate, a cam' rod onthe press head for driving the drive mechanism in opposite directions upon reciprocation of the press head, and means connected to the dial plate for preventing the operation of the press when the dial plate is not in a proper indexed position.

ALEXANDER M. MAcPHEAT.

ELMER 1.. MOON. 

